Kinglet Perch is a 2,700-square-foot house on the Naramata Bench in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. The site is a steep, rocky ridge populated by mature Ponderosa pines, with long views west across Okanagan Lake. The house was positioned to retain the existing trees and topography rather than clearing and flattening the ridge to create a conventional building platform.
The plan is organized around a protected central courtyard, with the main living spaces extending west toward the lake. From the road, the house is comparatively closed, giving privacy to the interior and allowing the experience of the site to unfold gradually. Moving through the house, views open progressively toward the water and valley beyond. The courtyard provides a more sheltered outdoor space within the exposed hillside condition, while terraces at the outer edges of the house engage the larger landscape.
At the western edge of the site, the primary living volume projects beyond the ridge. An exposed steel V-strut structure carries the cantilever back to concentrated support points, allowing the existing slope, rock and vegetation to continue beneath the building. The structure is therefore both spatial and practical: it extends the occupied floor toward the view while reducing the amount of excavation, retaining and disturbance that would otherwise have been required on the steep terrain.
The material palette responds to the climate and wildfire exposure of the Okanagan. White stucco forms the primary exterior enclosure, with weathering steel used for guards and selected exterior elements. The materials were chosen for durability, low maintenance and their suitability within a wildland-urban interface. Inside, pale wood ceilings soften the more durable exterior palette and extend through the glazing line to become exterior soffits, reinforcing the connection between interior rooms and covered outdoor spaces.
Environmental decisions at Kinglet Perch begin with the site itself. Retaining the existing Ponderosa pines and rocky ground reduced the amount of landscape reconstruction associated with the project, while the concentrated structural system allowed the house to occupy the ridge without wholesale grading. Deep roof overhangs limit high-angle summer sun and reduce solar gain during the hottest months. A 20 kW photovoltaic array is integrated into the roof, contributing on-site renewable energy production. The house also relies on durable, non-combustible exterior materials appropriate to the region’s increasing wildfire risk.
Completed in 2025, Kinglet Perch is shaped by the particular conditions of the Naramata Bench: steep ground, intense summer sun, wildfire exposure, existing vegetation and long views down the lake. Its architecture comes from working with those conditions rather than replacing them.
